Emmys 2013: TV undergoing 'such a renaissance,' Edie Falco says

Edie Falco managed to keep her tough-lady look in a long, electric-blue gown at the 65th Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday.

The actress was soaking up enjoyment from the fact that she is lucky enough to have starred in (and won Emmys for) two popular TV series: the groundbreaking "Sopranos," and now as Jackie Peyton on Showtime's critically acclaimed sleeper "Nurse Jackie."

"I feel very lucky to be in an industry that's experiencing such a renaissance," she said.

Part of that renaissance is thanks to the incredibly rich characters that are being written these days, many of whom are antiheroes.

Falco's Nurse Jackie is one such character, a loving mother and devoted nurse who is also cheating on her husband and addicted to pharmaceuticals.

In fact, her character is so controversial that real-life nurses' associations have protested that Peyton gives nurses a bad name.

Falco doesn't pay too much attention to the controversy, though.

"I don't do the Internet thing," she said. "I've been through this before with 'The Sopranos,' and with that we weren't saying that all Italians are mobsters any more than 'Nurse Jackie' is saying that all nurses are druggies."

On a more somber note, Falco was bracing herself for the Emmy-night tribute planned for her "Sopranos" costar, James Gandolfini.

"It's hard, but necessary," she said. "I feel like the ritual of the memorial is important."